MARK MARTIN FAST FACTS * MICHIGAN
Sunday, June 20, 2004
MICHIGAN INTL' SPEEDWAY
(2.0 MILES, 200 LAPS)
NO. 6 TEAM LOOKS TO REBOUND AT MICHIGAN
After a strong performance, but disappointing finish last week at Pocono, Martin and the No. 6 Viagra Racing Team will look to rebound and start climbing there way back up this weekend at Michigan Speedway, where Martin has won four times and has 36 races under his belt.
Chassis Number: (RK-241) - The team will run RK-241 this week Michigan. RK-241 is the same car Martin won in at Dover two weeks ago. This will be the fifth run for RK-241 (600 - 36th, Atlanta - 14th, Texas - 17th, California - 11th.
Worthy Note: Martin's 24 top 10's are the most of any active driver at Michigan.
STILL IN THE FIGHT - IN THE POINTS
Last week's finish dropped Martin one spot to 14th in the points race. With 12 races remaining in the race for the top 10, Martin is currently 93 points behind 10th place.
MARTIN AT MICHIGAN
Martin's 24 top-10 finishes at Michigan are the most of any active driver. In addition, Martin has 13 top five finishes in 36 starts and four wins at the 2-mile track. This will mark Martin's 37th race at Michigan Speedway, where he posted 10-straight top 10 finishes from 1990-95.
GETTING A GOOD START
Martin's fourth place qualifying effort at Pocono, was the teams fourth top 10 start of the year and Martin's best qualifying effort of the season. The team will look to build on that this week at Michigan as Martin will be looking for his 42nd Nextel Cup Pole.
WINNING WAYS
Martin will run RK-241 this weekend at Michigan. RK-241 is the same car he won in two weeks ago at Dover.
QUOTING MARK AND PAT
ON MICHIGAN
"One good thing about Michigan is that it's easier to pass there than it is a lot of the tracks that we go to, so if you have a better car, you can get around some people. We've been really good a Michigan in the past, but we've tailed off there the last few years. I think this might be the year that we get back up front there. We've had such good cars in the last several races that it gives you confidence going into each track. We just have to make sure that we finish races and we'll be fine.
"I have a really good fan base up in the Michigan area and there are so many people up there who have been watching me race for over 25 years, and well before I ever drove a cup car. Hopefully we can get back on the right track with our finishes and give them something to cheer about this weekend. The team has done a great job this year and they really haven't had near the results they deserve. We can't worry about that stuff, we just have to keep moving forward and we'll do that this week at Michigan."
PAT TRYSON
"We are taking the Dover car, which we know from that race what it is capable of. Still, Dover and Michigan are different tracks and it will be our job to make sure that we get the car in its best possible shape for Mark to drive on Sunday. There are still a lot of races left in 2004 and not one single person on this team is about to even think about giving up. We are going to just continue to go out there and try to win races. Everything else will take care of itself."
Mark Martin Fast Facts * Pocono
Martin's 24 top-10 finishes at Michigan are the most of any active driver.
Martin has four wins at Michigan ranks third amongst active drivers.
Martin has led 20 races at Michigan for a total of 795 laps.
Martin has posted 13 top-five finishes in 35 races at Michigan.
Martin has finished inside the top 10 in four of his last five races at Michigan.
LAST YEAR AT MICHIGAN...
JUNE 15, 2003 * Michigan International Speedway
Sirius Satellite Radio 400 * Started 15th, Finished 9th
Martin and the team struggled with a tight-handling car for the majority of the race; constantly in search of the proper adjustment that they never quite found. However, the team was able to use a solid effort in the pits and Martin's expertise behind the wheel, to earn its seventh top-10 finish of 2003. Martin was running in 10th position when the day's ninth and final caution was called with just 10 laps remaining. The team opted to stay out and take its chances on old tires, and the No. 6 Ford was running in sixth place when the field went green with five to go in the race. The majority of the cars behind him pitted for fresh tires, and Martin quickly dropped to ninth place when the field went green. However, the gamble to stay out paid off, as Martin was able to maintain ninth position and cross the finish line for his second top-10 finish in as many weeks.
ONE OF NASCAR'S ALL-TIME ELITE, MARK MARTIN
Martin's 34 Nextel Cup wins put him fourth on the win list among active drivers and 17th on the all-time list.
Martin has currently started 524 straight Nextel Cup races, the third-longest current streak and the seventh-longest streak in Cup history.
Martin's 41 Nextel Cup poles are the fifth most in Cup history.
Martin ranks fifth all-time in the Nextel Cup point standings.
Martin has started 580 Cup races, finishing inside the top 10 on 330 occasions, inside the top five 207 times and visiting winner's circle 34 times.
Martin's 45 career wins in the Busch Series are a NASCAR record.
Martin's 11 victories in IROC competition ties Dale Earnhardt for the most ever. In addition Martin has won four championships in the IROC series, including a record three straight.
